Looking into: Deep Space

Space technology is rapidly changing, and as newer and stronger telescopes come out, the understanding of outer space increases. Recently the European Space Agency has released new information of a modern space telescope. The Herschel telescope has picked up signs of a new star being born in the outer reaches of the galaxy. Within the next few hundred thousand years, it will be the brightest star in the Milky Way. This new "Impossible star", Called this because it has seemingly deceived the ways previously thought that stars had formed, is already 8-10 times the size of our own star, the sun. "The diameter of Herschel's main mirror is four times larger than any previous infrared space telescope and one and a half times larger than Hubble". This has led the telescope to be so much more powerful than Hubble, making it possible to see distant nebulas and stars being formed. Astronomers had believed that galaxies have been forming stars at about the same rate for the last few billion years. Herschel's photos have shown otherwise. This new telescope may allow scientists to discover distant planets orbiting far away solar systems, thus increasing the chance of finding extra-terrestrial life.

This is the Herschel telescope in orbit around earth.

This is a picture taken from the Herschel telescope while in orbit.

Looking into: The "Flying Squirrel Suit"

Have you ever imagined parachuting through the skies? Well you can slow it down even further by having a glide in a recent "Flying Squirrel" (or Wingsuit) suit design, which became popular in the 1990's. With the modern design it is possible for the jumpers to glide at speed of over 200km per hour. The jumping can take place off of a man made structure such as a bridge or antenna, or out of an airplane. Jumps have been made from above the alps, flying barely above ground level. Professional jumpers have been able to fly around 15 feet above ground level.

It is still not safe to land without the aid of a parachute, although the ground descent speed is only 50km per hour. This speed is within a safe zone for landing on the ground, however due to the very fast forward speed caused by the gliding of the suit, parachutes are necessary for a safe landing. The suits are made from a thick nylon, which is a strong material for enduring the stresses of the up to 200km per hour gliding speed. Birdman was the first manufacturer to create the safe use of Wingsuits by having lessons taught with the "Instructors Program". One of the main differences between the squirrel suit and a flying squirrel is that the squirrel can use its tail as a rudder, where as the person using a Wingsuit has to steer by leaning into the direction they want to go.

Looking into: "The Floating City"

As technology progresses, so does the design and capabilities of cruise ships and ocean liners. A new ship known as "The Oasis of the seas" owned by Royal Caribbean, and was completed on October 28, 2009, and was sailed from Turku, Finland, to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The ship features many activities, such as a rock climbing wall, mini golf, 4 swimming pools, theme parks, and even a zip line. There is a "Central Park" feature, which holds restaraunts, bars and lounges. It is the world's first floating park. The ship's unique balcony design allows even interior room passengers to have a balcony, as the centre of the ship in the middle is hollowed out to allow the balconys, or at least a window.


The ship has wind deflectors on the walking decks, to prevent strollers from blowing over, and excessive winds. The ship's massive size, efficient stabalizers, and very quiet engines have almost simulated that the ship isn't even on water. The Oasis of The Seas set a record for the most passenger ever carried on a ship (6,000)

Looking into: Magnetically Levitated Trains

Have you ever wondered what the future of trains will hold? Well the technology of Magnetically Levitated Trains (or Maglev trains for short) is being seen in more and more parts of the world. How do they work? Well it is all found in the megnetic polarity of the rail. You know when you take 2 magnets, and hold both north or both south ends of the magnet near each other, and they repel? Well the maglev train is essentially a huge rail which is magnetically charged to repel the train, so the train ends up "hovering" about 1cm above the rail itself. This means that there does not need to be any moving parts, therefore theoretically very little maintenaince, as well as little friction (other than air resistance) meaning high speeds over long distances. Maglevs can travel up to speeds of 500 km/h, and it travels very quietly, apart from the noise it makes from displacing air. The maglev train and the tracks are expensive to produce, and more research is being done to make the electro magnets more efficient, and cheaper. Germany and Japan are currently working on many kilometre long test tracks, and trying new ways to keep the maglev viable for commercial use. Here is a diagram of how the maglev train is laid out:

Notice the complex structure of the interior of the maglev. The radiation sheild helps to prevent the magnetism of the system get to the inside of the train, allowing people with pacemakers and other electronic devices to still have them in use.

Looking into: The Ipad

Small hand held devices have really began to enter the big time world market in recent years. In fact, some researchers have predicted that your typical desktop computer may become obsolete by the year 2013. That's right. 3 years. And with the new Ipad moving into the next line of Apple products, it's certainly taking the world by storm. At only half an inch thick, it is really pushing technology to the next level. The Ipad itself is almost the size of a magazine, with dimensions of 9.56 inches x 7.47. Engineers used the same batteries that are used in the Mac book (lithium-polymer) to give the Ipad a very long battery lifespan of up to 10 hours per charge. This gives users a good time bracket to do all of the internet surfing, movie watching, gaming, and listening to music that they need. You can even buy accessories to make the device even better, such as a keyboard or a connection kit to hook up your photos and music to the device. This remarkable new piece of technology can be fetched for only $499. You can visit the official Apple site here.

Looking into: Grass Skiing

If you love the thrill of skiing, and would love to continue the sport into the summer months, then you would love grass skiing. Invented in 1966 by Richard Martin, it was originally invented to give professional skiiers a chance to train for winter skiing, they have experienced a surge in popularity on their own. Originally found in Germany, they have since spread around the world and have gained success. Grass skiing is similar to traditional alpine skiing, except that you need a wider stance, and in order to stop, you must turn up the hill as apposed to the traditional "hockey stop" where you can essentially stop on a dime. The cost of grass skiing equipment is between $200 and $600 US. The skis are similar in design to a tank's tread, as they have a conveyor belt around a set of wheels which allows the skier to move. There are still poles to use, and in addition there is elbow and shin pads to prevent grass burns when falling. There have been grass skiing competitions, including the "Grass Skiing World Cup" which is basically the same as a regular ski race, except on grass.

Looking into: Flying Cars

For many years, there has always been the thought that one day, cars will fly. Well preliminary trials of the M200 has shed new light on the concept of flying cars. Although still in the "Model T" stage of development, this car's creator (Dr. Paul Moller) sees a significant market for these cars. After 40 years and $33,000,000 later, the M200 is being tested. The car could be going out on the market for about $100,000 each. The vehicle has been designed to take and land vertically, by getting lift from 8 fans around the outside. Each of these fans gives out about 70 horsepower, for a total of 560 horsepower. The creators of the design are looking at trying to increase the horsepower of each engine from 70 to 140 horsepower, as the car is not powerful enough to hold a person and a full load of fuel. The vehicle has been designed with lightweight reinforced plastic. However there is still alot of work to be done, especially with the landings which are a bit bumpy. This could be solved with a breakthrough on the car's engine. The car only has 3 moving parts: 2 rotors and a crankshaft. This simple design makes the car reliable, which is especially important when you are up in the air. The inventors are still waiting on the government to create a sky way system for further testing.

Looking into: The next energy supplier

Everyone has climate change in their minds, and we know that we can't stay with fossil fuels for ever. We need a change to something cleaner, more efficient and dare I say... plentiful? We're not talking about wind or water, we're talking something out of this world, 356,334 kilometers away in fact. Our next leading source of viable fuel alternatives, may come from our very own moon. Helium 3 (He-3). There is a vast amount of this resource on the moon. So much, in fact, that it could satisfy earth's energy need for hundreds of years. The process of extracting helium 3 is not too unsafe either. There is no radiation, like in conventioal nuclear fusion, and can be safely contained in a reactor. 1kg of helium 3, provides more energy than 10,000 tons of fossil fuels. On earth, helium 3 is quite scarce, with pretty much the only reserves being found in decomissioned nuclear warheads. Due to the moon's lack of atmosphere, the solar winds have left large deposits of helium 3 on the surface, especially in the poalr region. By the year 2020, Russia may consider extracting the resource from the moon if funding can be found.

Looking into: Space Elevators

Have you ever thought about going into space? Well a new technology known as carbon nanotubes has permitted the exploration of space elevators. These tubes are lightweight, and a very strong material. The only problem is, it would be very difficult and not economically feasable to build a 35,000km tube into outerspace. Due to high amounts of radiation in space, it would be too dangerous for people to be sent up in a space elevator, but would be fine for most cargo. There have been competitions held to see who comes up with the greatest design for a space elevators with cash rewards of many thousands of dollars. The elevator would most likely be powered by a high energy laser, which would be located on the ground and would charge a solar panel, thereby propelling it up. This laser would also be a problem though because so far there isn't enough technology to build a laser that strong. The base of the elevator would be located out in the ocean, as to avoid some environmental issues. Of course there are other issues such as the danger of asteroids hitting the elevator, or the collapse of the structure, but as the plans for a space elevator develop, some of the flaws may be overcome. Due to the recent discovery of carbon nanotubes, there has been a more in depth look at space elevators.